Hine (ITV 1971, Barrie Ingham, Paul Eddington)

August 26, 2016

Drama series detailing stories of British arms salesman Joe Hine and his many international dealings.

At the time of broadcast there was a lot of publicity centred around the fact that Hine was most probably the most controversial character to take the lead in a TV drama – he is an arms salesman after all! Everything Hine does is perfectly legal thanks to government export licenses , he sells everything from small arms to the latest machines but what he really wants is to pull off that huge deal that would allow him to retire in style.

In reality while the series does touch on some unsavoury topics – Hine finds himself selling arms to quite a few revolutionaries and the like, Hine is more akin to contemporary characters like Joe Lampton from Man at the Top.

Times critic Philip Purser said that the series worked because Hine was “a role guaranteed to offend every soft liberal consciousness nevertheless turned up trumps thanks to the cunning of Wilfred Greatorex’s format and Ingham’s debonair performance. In a world dominated by by giant corporations and agencies Hine emerged as the last honest man.” Greatorex himself said of star Ingham in the TV Times promo for the show that “he brings to Hine a wilful self-assurance and horse-power that makes Hine as real as any arms salesman I have met. He makes Hine come alive and survive.”